Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

Undergrad Computer Science Enrollments Rise for Fourth Straight Year

The number of undergraduate students enrolled in computer science programs rose 9.6 percent in the 2011-12 school year, the fourth consecutive annual increase, according to the Computing Research Association's (CRA's) Taulbee Survey. The data compares schools that responded to both the 2011 and 2010 Computing Degree and Enrollment Trends survey, which documents trends in student enrollment, degree production, employment of graduates, and faculty salaries in academic units in the United States and Canada that grant the Ph.D. in computer science, computer engineering, or information. The CRA Taulbee Survey also suggests that students&#8217; interest in computer science may even be higher than indicated by the enrollment statistics, because some schools&#8217; enrollments are constrained by enrollment caps in computer science departments. The total number of bachelors degrees in computer science awarded by U.S. schools increased by 10.5 percent in the 2010-11 school year, the survey found. In addition, total Ph.D. production in computing programs held steady in 2010-11, with 1,782 degrees granted.